Those of us in Nashville, Tennessee have been familiar with The One Called Manders for the entirety of 2019. He showed up in a Southern Underground Pro ring during a scramble match one fateful SUP Sunday and went undefeated in Nashville for eight months. Indeed, “The Cornbelt Cowboy” got off to as hot a start as you could hope for in the Music City. He’s had show-stealing matches with Kerry Awful, Joshua Bishop, and Graham Bell in The Basement East this year (go back and seek each out on the IWTV gimmick).
But, as we careened towards the 2019 Scenic City Invitational, it felt like people were still sleeping on just how infectious his grind is. This is a dude who will drive anywhere to make any town. And, when that bell rings, Manders can go with anybody.
Now that another SCI weekend is in the books, it’s safe to say that anyone who was still sleeping on Manders last week isn’t any longer.
On Thursday, he kicked off Crux Wrestling’s Hey Jealousy as apart of a four-way match that also featured Lutha X, Dreamboy 001, and the meteoric Blake Christian. It was the perfect way to start that show, and Manders had the crowd roaring with his strong boi antics. Not to mention, he had all the thirsty moms in the TWE Arena yelling, “get ’em, cowboyyyy!”
Fast forward to Saturday, and it’s time for SCI Futures 2019. In the first round, Manders drew Big Beef Gnarls Garvin and Cactus Zach Cooper (get well soon, brother!). It was a hoss battle for the ages. Holy shit, watching that felt like hopping in a bathroom stall with a raging bull. I got a concussion just writing this paragraph. Some even called it the match of the weekend. Manders was victorious.
He’d go on to wrestle Benjamin Carter and Bobby Flaco in the SCI Futures Finals and win in another solid showing. Manders went to Chattanooga to lay claim to the SCI Futures Medal. Gotta say, it looks damn good on him.
I reached out to Manders to ask if he could put into words just how magical last weekend was:
SCI is one of the best tournaments around I would say. Guys like Matt Riddle, Joey Lynch, Daniel Makabe, and so many others who have won it and are household names in my book. Also, the guys who are in it as well like Nick Gage, Tony Deppen, 2 Cold Scorpio, Curt Stallion, Matt Tremont etc.
Saying that I was the highlight of the weekend or stole the weekend is really something to be proud of because so many guys absolutely killed it this weekend. To say that is an honor, and in my mind, that’s awesome, but there are things I can work on to be better and so many other guys deserve that as well.
Winning the Futures Showcase was truly an honor as well. So many guys on the come up who bust their asses and work hard just like I do. Having last year’s guys like Marko Stunt who won it, O’Shay Edwards, Kevin Ku, and Mr. Brickster, who have been killing it and now were in the tournament this year shows the rise in southern wrestling.
Highlights of the weekend were of course the 3-way hoss fight as both guys went out and KILLED IT and have been KILLING IT for a while. Good for Cooper and Big Beef to get recognition. Obviously in the finals with Ben Carter and Bobby Flaco and winning it against those guys.
I think the biggest highlights were not the wrestling, but the backstage portion where I had the pleasure to listen to legends in this business like B-Boy, Tremont, and Makabe. Driving those guys around was awesome. Learned so much from those guys who’ve been doing it a long time. I’d say as well learning from Kerry and prom karaoke was fun as well.
–Manders
On Sunday, he ventured back to The Basement East, where he lost to Jaden Newman at SUP’s All Hell Breaks Loose. Not settling for that loss, he came back out and issued a challenge. Who else would answer but “The Bone Collector” Dominic Garrini? What a surprise! Garrini picked up the win, but it was one of the most underrated matches of the weekend.
What’s craziest, though, is the fact that Manders went from being booed out of the building at the last SUP show for his extracurricular activities and arrogant attitude to having fans chanting “one more match” after his loss to Garrini.
Sunday was a fun one. Even though I lost to the punk ass Jaden Newman, THAT WAS A FAST 3 COUNT! But, hey this isn’t over…a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. I had a lot of matches this weekend. WAY MORE THAN JADEN, so he got lucky.
Having the crowd chant my name after having an absolute war with Dom was exhilarating. What an experience. It just shows the hard work and the wrong that has happened greatly shows. It’s now time to crunch down and get to work. To write the story that I want.
Nashville…TENNESSEE is a place that I, believe it or not, hold special in my heart. Just want to thank everyone, it’s a team effort and the fans…you guys are greatly appreciated.
–Manders
It was unbelievable. The man went from being one of the most hated villains in SUP to being one of its most celebrated heroes in a matter of one strong weekend.
That’s why I say no one had as much of a star-making weekend as Manders did. Between the number of people he won over last weekend and the sheer amount of buzz he generated on wrestling Twitter, it reminds me a lot of the 2018 SCI Futures winner, Marko Stunt, catching fire a summer ago.
Maybe those thirsty ass moms at the TWE Arena are on to something…
Manders was kind enough to give “The General” John Mosley a little over 30 minutes of his time while we were in Chattanooga. You can listen to our full interview with Manders on Checks and Championships here – we chat about getting into wrestling, making towns, SUP, Jaden Newman, and of course, that good good chocolate moonshine:
MORE 2019 SCI COVERAGE
A.C. Mack Needs To Be Held Accountable For His Actions
B-Boy Is My 2019 SCI Weekend MVP
Crux Wrestling: Hey Jealousy Recap
How I Spent My SCI Weekend: 2019 Edition
Podcast: B-Boy Interview
Podcast: Brett Ison Interview
Podcast: Doug Markham Interview
Podcast: IFHY “Interview”
Podcast: Manders Interview
Podcast: O’Shay Edwards Interview
Podcast: The Smokin’ Budz Interview
SUP: All Hell Breaks Loose Recap
Thank you, SCI
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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